Rwanda was initially inhabited by the Twa (a Pygmy Tribe) followed
by the Hutu then the Tutsi who arrived at around the 14th Century.
Tribal coexistence and formal government was achieved by the
formation of a kingdom whose boundaries are close to the present
day Country.
The Banyarwanda Kingdom was headed by Mwami (King)
a post that was hierarchical with rulers from the Tutsi tribe.
By the 19th Century, stable systems of governance including
a standing army existed in the Kingdom.
Colonial Era:
Similar to Burundi, Rwanda was annexed as part of the German
East Africa Protectorate of Rwanda-Urundi after the Berlin Conference
of 1885. German rule in the Country was established in 1890 without
much resistance and in 1907, a German officer to oversea the
colony was stationed permanently in Rwanda. Following German
losses in the 1st World War, the Belgian Army occupied the Country
in 1916 and together with neighboring Burundi; both Countries
became part of the Belgian League of Nations.
Rwanda was granted its independence on the 1st of July 1962 by
Belgium, though the first legislative elections in the Country
were held in 1960 with Gregoire Kayibanda as the interim Prime
Minister.
Since independence, Rwanda has had to cope with decades of political
instability, ethnic tension and violence which probably reached
its highlight in the Genocide of 1994. Relative peace and calm
has returned to the Country and Presidential and Parliamentary
elections were held in 2003, won by President Paul Kagame.
